. we asked you at the top of the show what you're doing at this hour. what are they saying? >> jim writes i'm discharged from the hospital and it's time for my vicodin. >> all right. it's always time for vicodin some would say. >> sarah writes i had a shoulde. yikes. >> i had the same nightmare. did that actually happen? oh, my gosh, it did happen. that was not staged. i had no idea what was going on. i thought somebody from the nbc tour wandered on to the set. the thing about it is, it lingered. it went on for a while. more back rubs with donny, right now on "morning joe." the conduct of government -- >> representative -- >> yes. >> call the roll. >> no, no. >> if there's any doubt the governmental body should provide

2 hours notice. this is clearly a violation. if you've been shutting people down, it sim proper to move forward while there is a violation of the open meetings law. >> okay. where do we start? 6:00 on the east coast. good morning. it is thursday, march 10th. welcome to "morning joe." i'm going to need a security guard for willie geist. >> he's gazing at me now. >> strong hands, i'm just going to say it, strong hands. >> just awful. i'm so sorry, willie. do you need counseling? i'm going to call a therapist. with us on set as you can see msnbc -- you here? >> the scars, the psychological scars. >> could you sit up, please?

>> oh, come on. >> mike barnicle. >> men have to be comfortable enough to do things like that. >> donny deutsch is here as you can see. we have msnbc political analyst and visiting professor at nyu, harold ford jr.? >> you a professor? >> i am. >> what are you going to teach me today. >> in washington we have msnbc political analyst pat buchanan. we're going to start in wisconsin but while we're on the filthy topics and awkward things, i went to, with chris and my husband and his photographer, rob, the trump roast cam did i central last night, chris. >> yes. >> raunchy. >> that's what it was. >> i feel bad for donald. >> you weren't laughing a lot. >> i just sat there like stone-faced. >> how was jeff ross? >> oh, my -- we can't show any of this. it's impossible. >> who are some of the people

roasting? >> okay. snoop. >> snoop was there. >> most hilarious. larry king. >> larry king, really? >> yes. >> the situation. >> oh, my gosh, the situation. >> whoa. >> seth mcfarland was there. >> yes. it was -- >> give me some funny lines. >> i can't. i almost blocked it out of my mind. i have to say, i felt pity for donald trump. >> our next president. >> it was filthy, filthy, filthy. >> all right. >> moving on, we'll start -- i just have a question. maybe harold ford jr. can answer this. when it comes to wisconsin and the gentleman we saw screaming there asking for 24 hours for the democrats who have left the state to be given notice to come back about moving on in terms of stripping the union of their collective bargaining rights? i don't think the governor has been warm and caring here and is probably not making the right decision but it's his call.

and they chose to leave the state. which is a little unusual. it's a little unusual to leave the state and not vote, right? it's a different way of protesting something, correct? is that a yes or no. >> yes, it is unusual to leave the state. >> if the republicans in turn do something unusual, who are the democrats to call them out. >> there's a different of being unusual and being unlawful. if the law calls for a 24-hour notice before the governor can switch gears and begin voting on something else, the democrats have every right to raise that point and the attorney general will have to look at it. i'm sure if scott walker could ask the attorney general of the state to force the democrats back he would. they'll ask and attorney general will have to rule. but this shows that scott walker, this is all about ideology for him. he could have stripped this out and done the budget and done this second. to do this first proves a lot

about him and proves a lot of aggressive democrats to be right, this is about ideology. >> democrats in wisconsin are outraged after their republican counterparts voted last night to striply all collective bargaining rights from public workers. they managed to push the plan through after discovering a way to bypass the chamber's missing democrats. essentially they separated the bargaining provision from governor scott walker's budget bill, removing the requirement that 20 senators be present for a vote. this wasn't received well, as republicans voted, spectators in the senate gallery shouted "you are cowards." and "the whole world is watching." it became very dramatic. still a statement, governor walker said i applaud the legislature's action today to stand up to the status quo and take a step in the right direction to balance the budget and reform government. on msnbc last night, one of the

democratic senators hiding out in illinois, this is fascinating, said his caucus would return to wisconsin but would not say when. >> absolutely we're going to go back to wisconsin. this is just the first of many battles. it's absolutely essential that we go back and fight this. we join the citizens in wisconsin who have been demonstrating and protesting and writing letters and doing everything they can to tell the governor that this cannot be -- that this cannot be the future of wisconsin. we are going to be back there, right shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, to fight this battle right along with them. >> but not tomorrow. >> but not tomorrow. >> i've got to tell you, this is a democracy. this is not what the people, the good people of wisconsin voted for when they voted for this governor. this is say governor that would not sit down at the table with these people, the democrats, they walked away. now he's doing whatever sleazy end run -- this is not what this

run is built on. this is a fascist regime. there's something wrong here. >> we're going to get a lot of voices going here. the state assembly which previously approved the original proposal is set to consider the new measure later today. mike barnicle, you take it, you go to pat. >> patrick j. buchanan in washington, d.c., let me ask you, i think the key component yesterday was the republicans and the governor, scott walker, they won the moment, no doubt about that. here's a quote from the governor that i think might show his naivety in politics. he's just elected three months ago. the action today will help ensure wisconsin has a business climate that allows the private sector to create 250,000 new jobs. so i would imagine the democrats if they have any brains at all in wisconsin have a clock going right now on when those jobs are going to start. because the bill yesterday was devastating, i think, pat, in two parts of a four-part bill.

the bill, disavows collective bargaining only for salaries. geared to cost of living. here's the two parts i want you to comment upon, pat, as well as the governor's comment. there's going to be an annual vote in order for people to stick with the union. uponmembers will vote annually to see if they stick with their union and it's going to end the state's collection of union dues for unions. what do you think? >> well, first on your point about 250,000 jobs, the clock is running. you're dead right, mike. harold is correct, even when the govern der this, which i approve with frankly, he should have followed the 24-hour rule and hold the meeting then, do it straight according to hoil. clearly, the governor has won this bat until the short term. i think the senators are coming home. let me tell you, we ran those ads yesterday. they're working on. this is going to be a major issue in 2012. take a look at the pictures of

those demonstrators marching into the state capital yelling the pictures of scott walker, with the crosshairs on his face, the hitler mustache. they're going to say do we want mob rule in madison? this is what the unions did and barack obama instigated it with his statement about assault on unions. that's what rove and those guys are working on in an ad. midwesterners, especially wisconsin folks, they may not like what's going on in the capital, but they're not the type of folks who like the thousands of people beating drums in the capitol or state legislatures running away to illinois for three weeks either. this battle is engaged. in the short term, i think scott walker has won a very big victory. >> to follow up on something harold said a minute ago, governor walker said over the last month that this was an issue about the state's budget. $3.6 billion budget shortfall. so he said this would give local governments more flexibility, right? this was about the budget.

to actually get it passed he removed all the budget measures out of it, as you say, exposed him, harold. the question now is what happens next? even the state senators on ed's show were saying the only recourse we have at this point is at the ballot box. they may try to recall or take other measures. looks like they'll have to live with this for now. >> not a single dime more going to wisconsin. the governor ran on the notion you have tole baence at budget and reduce spending. did he nothing to advance that cause. he could have done this in reverse order. why not strip out the fiscal funding part? what happened he took out the funding part of the bill which aloud him to pass this with only republican votes? unions agreed with him on the funding and come back and do his collective bargaining vote separately. he probably would have gotten all 19 republicans and avoided any questions about the legality or lawfulness of this. >> right. >> at the end of the day,

nothing has changed with the budge net wisconsin. i understand karl rove and others may be working on ads but the reality is, scott walker has done nothing continue crease the budget coffers. he may have hurt it because he may have put more people out of work. >> he has won the bat until this sense. hold it, harold. here's what's going to happen, those senators are coming home and they've agreed to those impositions on the public employees for pensions and health care. that's going to go through. walker's also going to solve the budget problem that's coming up, i bet it happens in the next week. he's going to have won both battles here, maybe he should have done it in reverse order. and after that, you're right, this goes down to the 2012 election and the 2014 election for scott walker. but that's a long way off. >> pat, i disagree with you and karl rove can do whatever he wants. i think people in this country

have something that feels right and doesn't feel right. i think the tactics, the approach, the totalitarianism of this does not feel right. this is not the way we govern in this country. i don't care, democrat or republican, and i really believe everybody around this table somehow in their tummy says this doesn't feel right. >> donny, that's right now. look at these pictures. everyone's hair is on fire, tons of drama. you know what the bottom line is? i know you feel angry, and many might, including myself, feel that the governor might be cold-hearted -- >> he's not -- >> hold on. everyone is upset. pat buchanan, when it comes to re-election, what is it going to come down to, this drama in the statehouse overnight or will it come down to jobs? >> we get back to mike's point. it has to work. we all know what's baked in the cake now. we may have disagreed about it but it will come down to 2012.

it's got to work. look at the pictures we're showing. you have angry people pouring into the capital, yelling, they have bullhorns. the republicans are gleeful if they come in and call scott walker every name in the book. the average guy in wisconsin says i don't particularly like this fellow walker but we can't legislate by having mobs in the state capital for heaven's sake, camping out there at night. >> who put this into motion. >> doesn't matter. >> here's the deal, donny. >> it may not be fair. >> despite what you claim, human nature is going to

is it better? are you more prosperous, do you have more money? no, no and no. that's what you run against. >> there are other governors who have done this and -- >> stylistically different. >> it has worked. >> are there any mobs in new jersey? >> no. >> this is not about the budget. this is about ideology. that's the difference to harold's point. >> i agree with you and i'm on your side with this. >> no one is debating the budget issue. this is not a budget issue. it's wrong, it's just wrong. >> he's not alone. there are obviously a lot of people who feel the way you do. big picture, we have to calm down. i was watching the coverage and everyone was threat to democracy, this is going to have sweeping consequences across the country and all sorts of sort of extreme concerns were being spewed out. i will tell you right now that it will come down to the state's health and jobs when he's up for

re-election. that is the bottom line. >> harold, let me ask you as an elected official, would you have preferred as a democrat to stay in madison and hammer it out toe to toe with the republicans over this or would you have left and gone to illinois. >> i'm a little different. i probably would have left for a few days and tried to come back to send a message and tried to come back. i'm not there in the middle of that. it's hard for anybody to really judge who's outside of there, not knowing the local feeling and what your constituents are saying. i don't disagree with what pat is saying about this being a temporary victory. you all know it's jobs in the state and health of the state. to donnie's point, the country will step back and say is this how we want everyone to govern? is this how we want our elected officials behaving? governors in other states and legislatures will have to watch this. i think there are lessons to be learned. i think the democrats ought to come back and they ought to -- because whatever you want to say, walker was clever. this was a politically clever thing to do.

>> yes. >> democrats on the other side of this and we had done this to something we believe in, we might applaud ourselves. from a political standpoint, he helped at vance something he believed in, eliminating union's power to bargain. to that, you have to say kudos, it's clever. we will continue this conversation. coming up, we talk to mitch mcconnell, "new york times" columnist nick kristoff, financial guru suze orman and celebrity chef, bobby flay. how's that for a show for you? >> that's action packed we call it in media land. >> thank you, thank you. >> i'm concerned about you today. you start out massaging willie, you get angry and -- >> i'm confused. i'm confused. >> let's not go there. >> i do have a therapist coming in. after the break, why politico says conservatives are planning to turn the nation's budget fight that a culture war. first, we are bracing for lots of rain in the northeast. here's meteorologist ginger zee with the latest.

>> the same storm threatening us here in the northeast created 13 tornadoes yesterday. now it's just the moisture and it's the inunizatidation that's happening. we have the floods and warnings, that's the filled in green. more than 3 inches in the orange area expected. temperatures in the 50s for philly, 60 d.c., 49, a nice wetting with cold rain for you in new york city. look for the country to be a little bit more bright in the sunshine area in the center there. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks.

a video released by james o'keefe today showed the top fund-raising executive for national public radio criticizing republicans and calling the tea party racist. >> son of a -- liberals got o'keefed again, taken in by the ashton kutcher of the conservative moment. james o'keefe, best known for his hidden camera takedowns and for, of course, the least plausible pimp costume ever. why would a pimp wear ski goggles. >> true. good question. pretty funny. >> maybe colorado peoples that -- >> right. donny? >> willie, how you feeling? >> the back rub, we're now 30 minutes post-back rub, still working through stuff. >> counseling? >> we play that in slow motion, you'll see a little glee in his eye. >> oh, my gosh. >> once i realized who it was there was glee. >> there was happiness, just

nice man stuff going on. >> that's disturbing. really is. it's -- >> i think men should be able to show affection for other men and not be -- even on national television. >> that you have a show about affection and love. it's a statement -- >> mike just gave me a look that's troubling. >> willie, move a little further to the right. >> even pat's uncomfortable. >> "the new york times," moammar gadhafi has tens of billions of dollars in cash secretly hid an way in tripoli, allowing him to pay his troops and prolong his fight against rebel forces, this despite an international freeze on many of the libyan government asset. will tlos angeles times, br ability to run over four republicans, the minimum number he needs to pass his budget plan. he's been bar hopping with lawmakers, crashing private dinners and even attended a

karaoke party. whatever it takes. >> walker ought to try that. "chicago tribune" illinois is the fourth state in the u.s. to ban the use of the death penalty, joining new york, new jersey and new mexico. "wall street journal" for the first time in more than 50 years, the fda approved a new drug to treat lupus. it could help hundreds of thousands of americans suffering from the auto immune disease. the most flown spaceship in the world, 39 missions, 148 million miles and 365 days spent in space. >> nothing compared to my 4runner. >> those things hold up well. >> they do. >> let's turn to politico. the executive editor. a look at the playbook. >> good morning. >> real quick, what's your morning take on your home state

of wisconsin? >> it's amazing that it's been -- front and center this long and that republicans went through and got it done. it looks like they took advantage of having power. one of the things we talked about before, the most important number out of the elections in 2010 was 675. that's the number of state legislative seats that republicans picked up. and that's allowing them to do huge things in states that you could never do at the federal level. you have places like wisconsin and indiana that have massive republican governing majorities from top to bottom and they're able to do sweeping legislation. the question is do they overreach? that's possible in wisconsin if you look at how unpopular walker is because he's taking it this far in collective bargaining. it is possible that he will overreach and it will damage republicans as opposed to republicans harnessing this sort of anti-government energy that's out there among independents and tea party activists. >> there are a lot of people in madison at this hour who think he already overreached. >> right. >> let's turn to the federal

budget now. conservatives want to turn the budget fight we're having right now into a conversation about social issues. what are they talking about and what does it mean for the party? >> to me it's the defining question of the next year for the party. can they focus on trimming government, not overreaching and focus on jobs and not get spooled up on social issues. you have social conservatives trying to go after funding for planned parenthood, make sure that d.c. government funds can be used for funding of abortion. it causes uneasiness with those republicans who want the message to be tightly focused on jobs and spending. that's where they feel they can unify the party and keep independents with them. we're not going to know for a year whether or not they can thread that needle. while that's happening on one side, in the senate you have jim demint saying that he's going to raise up to $16 million to help fund conservatives, people that he thinks are sufficiently

conservative in primary races. if you remember what happened in 2010 when republicans were split, where you had the establishment with more moderate what they considered electable candidates against these conservative candidate which is cost them senate seats in places like nevada, you're now looking at a repeat. demint is saying i'm doing it again, i'm going to raise my own money and i'll have my own political party to go at it. >> let's take a look at that 2010 election that jim was talking about. you also got rid of specter and you got toomey. got rid of charlie crist and you got marco rubio. the republican party is a coalition and there's no doubt there's deep divisions between the social conservatives and economic cover servatives and budget conservatives. to win you'll need them both. if you follow this idea of, let's put the social

conservatives in the back of the bus, you'll have a real problem. the winner 2012, the republicans, going to be the guy that can marry those two and clearly the cutting edge issue nationally may be the economic issue but you need that wing as reagan got it, as you don't win. >> mike? >> i would say that if i were a democrat, i would be really encouraging jim demint to further articulate, get even louder on the social issues because we're down to the two gs in this country for a lot of people, gas and groceries. you stick with that and you're going to win. >> and the "j," the jobs. >> i'm in the barnicle party. >> thanks so much. talk to you later. >> have a good one. npr, the head of the organization steps down as former contributor juan williams weighs in and weighs in strongly. his comments ahead. also, a controversial -- let's call it terrible to the st. john's/rutgers game. the blown calls and why the ncaa is calling the officiating

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live shot of the white house at 31 past the hour. a foggy, cloudy morning in washington, d.c. but the lights are on, getting ready to go to work. welcome back to "morning joe." quick look at the news. npr's representative resigned after secret footage, calling americans anti-intellectual and tea party members racist. vivian schiller was reportedly forced out of her job yesterday. good lord, justs so the gop-led house pushes the debate on whether to cut funding for public broadcasting. schilling's departure comes during a tough time for npr, including the controversial firing of juan williams. in an interview, the former npr contributor blasted the organization for its treatment of him. >> i think when it comes to npr's decision to, you know, without any reason, you know, i think for them, i think

especially for some of the people who created npr, it's an all-white operation, i think they felt they had never had much success with people who were black journalists, hispanic journalists. more success with white women. what you see there is a real reluctance, i think, to -- despite ten years of success, a real reluctance to deal with me as a journalist. >> wow. >> didn't you get the feeling that the clock was ticking on vivian schiller from the moment that the williams situation was so badly mishandled? >> yes, yes. >> it's a no-brain er if you think about it. >> that was deep insight. >> feel free to jump in. >> the issue is a real one. >> pat? >> look, they really ought to end the funding for npr.

you cannot justify this in a time where you have the battle of wisconsin. i will say this, juan williams, this looks like the last act in hamlet where all those people are gone. the two shchillers are gone. the fellow schiller resigned from the aspen institute, niz new job. it does reflect the guy talking down there at cafe milano, i think it reflects what people believes is a mindset that exists at npr, which is out of touch with this country. >> you know, pat, i think you're right to a certain degree. the difficulty with all of what's happening is, you know, people talking about let's eliminate the funding for npr. they really do some terrific work. that's been lost in this whole argument. >> mike, these guys, no doubt about it, they have outstanding journalists. those folks will find jobs in the private sector.

they're not going to just disappear. they do excellent work and -- but how do you justify when we're talking about closing down bases and cutting the military, government-funded radio when we have a thousand radio stations out there. >> i happen to agree with pat. anything we can cut, you can go, boy, it's a shame. and reality is, you have to say this is great but. npr might be one of those places. >> there are incredible reporters there but maybe at this point as the conversation changes and moves into this direction and someone like donnie agrees with pat on this, that their work will not be seens acompletely fair. and it is. most of it is. most of it is really good work. >> pat's absolutely valid point about isolation that people sense among npr employees is absolutely legitimate. how at a time when it's very difficult to fund veterans benefits and v.a. hospitals for

wounded svelte raveterans -- >> our schools. >> npr is like, you can't cut our budget. >> if they would put it to veterans health care, every democrat would vote for it. >> that's right. >> the journalism world is mourning the loss of writer david broder who died yesterday from complications from diabetes. he was one of the most respected writers, national politics for four decades, earning the pulitzer prize for his coverage of the watergate scandal. among the reaction to broder's passing, president obama called him a true giant of journalism. the clintons said his work demonstrated why freedom of press is at the heart of the american spectrum. pat, your thoughts? >> i thought david was a greater reporter than he was a columnist.

1967, up in nixon's law office he was taking a sabbatical from politics and we were having a secret meeting with guys from california who were going to run the campaign. i came out of the office. about an hour later the phone rang. it's david broder. he said, pat, i've squared with you and you've squared with me. as so-and-so been in a meeting with richard nixon discussing the campaign of '68? i thought for a second and dropped the phone into its cradle. but he had gotten the story within, i mean, minutes almost of that meeting being held. he was an outstanding, outstanding political reporter. >> you know, pat, you're absolutely right. the thing that separated him, two things separated him from the pack then and separates him from the pack today. one is he wasn't afraid to leave the office, climb the steps, knock on the door and talk to actual human beings. he wasn't googling them or getting them on the phone, other than you. the other thing was he always bent over backwards to be fair, to try and be fair.

>> what a unique concept in this world of journalism. >> in today's world, in some ways it is. controversial finish in the big east tournament yesterday. rutgers playing st. john's. rutgers down two here. a long pass broken up. they were trying to tie the game. stolen there by st. john's. he scoops up the ball, throws it in the air like the game's over. hold on a second. no whistle. the refs didn't say anything. he stepped out of bounds sea he threw the ball in the air with 1.7 seconds left. the officials left the building. they can't review this. rutgers should have the ball back with 1.7 seconds left in the game and get a shot to tie the game. they never got that shot. the whistle never blew, the ref never made a call. rutgers head coach mike rice was livid at the call. you can't review the play.

you have to point out that rice handled it with complete class after the game. here's what he said. >> it was a mistake. and we have the best referees in the country. and it just happened that way. would i have loved to review it and gone back? sure. and got another chance at a sideline out of bounds? again, this is what happened. it was a clear mistake. and hopefully it doesn't happen again. >> here's what the ncaa said about the call at the end of the game. they called it, quote, unacceptable, not officiating until the end of the game sun acceptable. these are some of the very best officials in the ncaa, higgins and jim burr, two long-time guys, have done final fours and rutgers, maybe they get the ball back. means they still have to score with 1.7 seconds left to tie the game. >> mika pointed out he was traveling also. >> he stepped out of bounds. >> where were you with your

whistle when we needed you? >> he said mistakes were made. st. john's, syracuse, a great day at the guarden. >> lavin for coach of the year. >> yes. former nba player and university ever michigan alum jalen rose appeared on espn to discuss a new documentary about the fab five, the university of michigan team we was the point guard, all freshmen starting five that lost to duke in the 1992 championship game. in this documentary, rose has some harsh words for the african-american players at duke. >> for me, duke was personal. i hated duke and i hated everything i felt duke stood for. schools like duke didn't recruit players like me. i felt like they only recruited black players that were uncle toms. >> certain schools recruit a typical kind of player. whether the world admits it or

not. duke is one of those schools. they recruit black players from polished families, accomplished families. and that's fine. that's okay. but when you're in inner city kid playing in a public school league, you know certain schools aren't going to recruit you. that's one. i'm okay with it and that's how i felt as an 18-year-old kid. >> the african-american players on that duke team that beat the fab five in the championship game, grant hill, brian hill, antonio lang and thomas hill among others. >> he's not wrong. >> just like universities and corporations have cultures. right or wrong as far as what duke does, i don't think his analysis is wrong. >> it's also based on grades. duke has academic standards higher than other schools. the idea that mike krzyzewski would not have wanted jalen rose to be his point guard is ridiculous. >> jalen rose is key phrase. that's what he thought was an 18-year-old. >> by the way, everybody should run a program like mike krzyzewski. >> are we done?

what's next? >> sports is done, right? >> what do you mean? >> are you bored with sports. >> i got a little bored. >> she's a sweetheart, isn't she? as he prepares for a possible run for president, newt gingrich explains personal problems that his critics have zeroed in on. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] succeeding in today's market requires more than wishful thinking. it requires determination and decisive action. go to e-trade and get unbiased analyst ratings and 24/7 help from award-winning customer support to take control of your finances and your life.

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there's no question that at times in my life partially driven by how passionately i felt about this country, that i worked far too hard and the things happened in my life that were not appropriate.

and what i can tell you is wendy things that were wrong, i wasn't trapped in situations. i was doing things that were wrong and i was doing it. i found i felt compelled to seek god's forgiveness. not god's understanding but god's forgiveness. >> time now for the must-read op-eds. i just need you to help me define what i just heard. >> i think what he said was -- >> help me. i'm going to -- >> the reason he was cheating on his wife with kansinger aleft her was his great love of the country. that makes sense to me, of course. >> that's what he said. that's his implication. yes, he did things wrong but the reason he was unfaithful to his wife while she had cancer was his great love of the country. that's why newt gingrich will be a great -- >> he was busy working to make the country a better place, he got distracted. >> yes. >> pat? >> don't ask pat about this. >> i need -- >> so many times, pat, i side

with you. i leave ranks and say pat, you do have a point. you have to agree with me on this, mr. there is a level of megalomania and insanity, politics aside, human being analyzing another human being, please line up with me here. >> i never thought of the love of country defense, i will admit. >> oh, my gosh. >> i want to see if this works. >> i need to see that again. i can't believe it. have we take tonight out of context? >> we're going to play newt gingrich again? >> yes. i want to -- >> this is why -- chris am i correct, he was asked about his transgressions in his three marriages and what we're about to play is his answer? >> yes. >> okay. roll it. >> there's no question that at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately i felt about this country, that i

worked far too hard and that things happened in my life that were not appropriate. and what i can tell you is wendy things that were wrong, i wasn't trapped in situation ethics. i was doing things that were wrong, yet i was doing it. i felt compelled to seek's god's forgiveness, not god's understanding but god's forgiveness. >> what a slime ball. what an absolute, unequivocal slime ball. >> what he just said makes no sense at all. he was wearing an american lapel flag pin while he was committing adultery. >> love of country and love of babelicious, two different things. >> what's a babelicious? >> that's what he was doing, i assume he was in babelicious land. >> how much of life has gone by us, do you think? >> mike, we didn't have this. >> he says -- let me try it.

he was -- okay. let me try. he was working very long hours, he was exhausted, because he loves his country. so he was working really hard and stressed and -- i can't do it. >> let me give you the talking points. what i did was unequivocally wrong within it's a mistake, i learned from it and i'd like to talk about politics now. the stupidity of this man, the grotesqueness. >> what's wrong with saying i am really sorry, i made horrible decisions. >> for the love of country, love of god. >> there were people in my life that got hurt and i'm sorry. >> maybe it was inappropriate for me to be leading the charge to impeach the president of the united states while this was going on. >> i'm not trying to be mean or sarcast sarcastic. i'm horrified by what i just saw. >> the pledge of allegiance may have been use as a pickup line. is this the first time in history? >> hey, mike, it's friday at the high school, mike. and you go to the confession,

bless me, father, i have sinned out of love of my country. >> i have a great line. you're in a bar, see a beautiful woman, walk up to her, you go, how about that constitution? that will work. start quoting amendments. even words like the great state of north dakota, works every time, better than a cocktail. >> i -- >> mika? >> get us out of here. get us out of this. >> you need mto get you out of this. >> mika, let's get out here. >> seriously. >> i have two words for an aphrodisiac, electoral college. >> there's so many things that i'm just not going to say right now. willie, why don't you tell me, something about news we can't use. make is so horrific. >> about the game change movie. good story.

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now, willie, you need to turn to donnie, just turn to donny and look at him in the face, say, donny, that's not okay. >> well, here's the problem. i don't feel that way. do we have the tape? this is just moments ago, an hour ago on "way too early." i was in the middle of a news story, a strange man came up behind me, on live television, and started massaging my back.

>> you've got to tell him, that's not okay. >> you know what's weird, the tension's gone. >> you're looking at it and you're going, there's something right about that. >> not something, everything. >> men should be secure enough, they should be able to show affection for other men they care about. >> and their country. >> work our your thumbs. they're really strong. >> wow. >> i'm a promotions guy. at the ends of the show, he will be performing the same thing on mr. barnicle. >> keep away from me. don't you touch me. >> let's do a couple stories here. the game change movie based on the best-selling book is going to be on hbo. >> amazing. >> we have our first major news about casting. playing the role of sarah palin will be -- >> pam anderson. >> negative. any other guesses? julianne moore will play sarah palin. >> that's cool. love her. >> she will be cast in the role

of sarah palin. trying to figure out who will play president obama. >> interesting. >> jeffrey wright. >> some unknown figure. >> i go with jeffrey wright. >> he's a great actor. >> he's a heck of an actor. >> that's an interesting choice. >> what else do you have, willie? >> i can wait for "saturday night live." here is the promo he shot for this weekend's show with andy sandburg. >> what were you saying about your neve knew. >> he's adorable. we played got your nose all day on sunday. >> what's that. >> you don't know got your nose. >> give that back. i need it to breathe. i insist you give me my nose back. i need it to breathe. give it back to me quickly, quickly!

thank you. >> his uncle was from north carolina, nick galifinakis. >> we have one more thing for you. this is how not to rob a convenience store if you're considering it. >> thank you. >> you go into a place say spartanburg, south carolina, maybe the cricket store on valley falls road. put the ski mask on in the parking lot. when you get in, you'll have complications, you can't get the ski mask on. the clerk meanwhile is watching all this, saying this guy say dufus. >> when he approaches her to get the money, she said, no, i'm not giving you the money. >> this whole hour has encompassed a lot of stupid men.

>> mika, listen to me. >> yes. >> bill of rights. >> like i said. it's you just unbelievable. we'll be back with the "new york times" nicholas kristoff. keep it right here on "morning joe."

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we have opened meeting laws in the state of wisconsin. we have them for a reason. all senator fitzgerald could say if you've debated it. what stuff have you taken out and why have you taken that stuff out? senator fitzgerald didn't want to answer any questions. he called the roll and walked out of the room. a couple minutes later the bill is in the state assembly and they'll be dealing with it tomorrow. the lawyerses will be taking a look at this and my guess is we'll end up in court. >> top of the hour, welcome back to "morning joe." live look at new york city. new developments to report out of wisconsin overnight, a dramatic turn of events there and a dramatic reaction at the statehouse with a lot of people screaming and waving signs and the democrats being put on their he heels, by some are calling illegal actions on the part of the republicans.

we shall see. we'll talk about that. mike barnicle is with us, donny deutsch is with us and harold ford jr. as well. pat buchanan is in washington and joining the table, columnist for "the new york times," nicholas kristof. good to have you back on the show. >> good to be back. extra security will accompany peter king today. in a news conference yesterday, attorney general eric holder rebuffed allegations that members of the muslim community have not been helpful to law enforcement in counterterrorism investigations. >> we don't want to stigmatize or alienate entire communities. we need to focus on individuals or groups of individuals who might band together and try to harm american interests or american citizens. that is what this justice department is doing. >> king is also facing questions about his own past as an

unapologetic supporter of the anti-british irish republican army, which has been linked to terrorist acts in the past. here's what congressman king said yesterday. >> first of all, the i.r.a. never attacked the united states. we start with that. you can't say every case is the same. i don't agree with everything they did. there were a force that was there. barack obama offered me -- would he have done that if i had a background the u.s. would have to worry about? >> 52% of americans find is appropriate that congress examines the radicalization of some members of the muslim community. there's a good piece in the "wall street journal" about this i'd like to get to. you've written on this, nick. your thoughts as we look ahead to these hearings. i wonder if they've been characterized fairly across the board. >> i think they're counterproductive. sure, there's a problem with radicalization. when you have somebody like king doing these hearings, the end result is you further radicalize

that community and create a perception worldwide. they are targets. at the end of the day, muslims in this country have been the prime source of tips about radical islam in america. i'm afraid that the king hearings are just going to create a sense in that community that they're targets. >> is there an alternative that would be better or could we just not touch it? >> if they were run by somebody who wasn't perceived as an enemy. >> how about broadening the hearings. you can come up with home grown radicals that are increasingly dangerous. >> let's talk to moderate whites and why are we not responsible for the white supremacists? what peter king is doing is scary. i find it interesting that the three republicans we talked about today, newt gingrich, peter king and scott walker, the republican party cannot help themselves. this is not what america wants. >> let's leave peter king out of this. >> i would not put scott -- pat buchanan, chime in here. >> i call it extremism.

that's the link for the three of them. >> let's take nick's phrase, we got tips from the muslim community. what that means is nick is saying in the muslim community there are those inside it who are giving aid and comfort to islamic extremists. we know that al qaeda is trying to reach into this country. we know they got to major hassan who perpetrated the massacre at ft. hood. we know the pakistani kids going back to fight and the somali kids going back to fight have been reached. what is wrong with seeing how great the penetration is, how susceptible the community is and are some few giving aid and comfort to this exercise? maybe peter king is not the right guy but i think, i do agree with him, you cannot let political correctness deny you the ability to take a look at what is a serious and growing problem, not only here but more so in new england and europe.

>> the real catastrophe for muslim americans would be home grown attacks that could be exploited by those who claim that islam is itself inherently violent. done right, mr. king's hearings candice spell misinformation. the reality is that jihadism in the u.s. remains extremely rare in a muslim american community of some 3 million. facing up to its threat without politically correct obfuscations is a government duty. 0 so, too, is respect for notions of tolerance and fair play that have allowed people to flourish in america. nick kristo sfxt? >> one of the things that's helped the u.s., vis-a-vis europe, for example, is muslims are part of the fabric. in places like pakistan it will be the narrative of america, the

inhospitable to islam. >> harold? >> i agree with nick. there's an examination of this that needs to take place, hout extent to which the radical elements of islam is found safe haf innocent united states. but for peter who i would agree with mike, i served with him. i like him. he has good intentions but this is the wrong way to do it. and you don't want to disrupt your justice department for holder to make the comments did he that we are receiving help, i don't necessarily agree with pat that there are those who are giving them comfort. there may be those who have information, have access to see things. i'm a christian. >> i would not want people to say christians are bad people because of the actions of timothy mcveigh or the actions of someone who would blow up buildings to make a point about their own political ideology. we've not conducted hearings into that. maybe we should. to say this the right thing to do, i'm not certain we advance any ball here, any progress. >> pat? >> let's take a look at when the

british were at war with the germans. i think the idea of looking into any connections they had to nazi germany, maybe they didn't but they looked like they agreed with him and were pushing that line. what i think is, look, why don't we wait for peter king to hold the hearings? he is controversial but he has a lot of grit and guts. all of us agree on one thing, vast, overwhelming majority of muslims in this country and arabs in this country are loyal and patriotic americans who love this country. is there a problem in the community? i think if you look at the recruitments beginning on, look at major hassan, look at the things going on, you have to say, yes, there is a problem, let's take a look at it. >> there's a media reality, what the media takeaway for this for most americans is, let's put muslims on trial. that's a scary thing and that causes hate and i think we're going to see hate crimes as a result of this. there has to be an understanding

of that. >> nick? >> the hearings are going to happen. i sure hope they reach out and include people who are working with the muslim community and the somali community for example and bring the people in in trying to reduce this kind of violence. >> we'll watch the hearings today. the other big story this morning, comes out of wisconsin. where republican controlled assembly leaders are expected to take up a bill today, curbing nearly all collective bargaining for public workers after senate republicans ended a weeks long stalemate on the issue. last night, they outmaneuvered their awol democratic counterparts by stripping the measure from the funding part of the bill, allowing them to vote on it without a democrat being present. before the vote, the democratic leader in the assembly, peter barca tried to fight the move, saying there wasn't enough notice. >> representative barka. >> clerk, cal the roll. >> no. if there's any doubt to whether good cause exists, the governmental body should provide

24 ours notice. this is clearly a violation of the open meetings law. you've been shutting people down. it sim proper to move forward while there this is say violation of the open meetings law. >> there must be -- >> however, minutes after that meeting, the senate convened and passed the measure. 18-1, without discussion or debate. as republicans voted, spectators in the senate gallery shouted, quote, you are cowards. governor walker said, i applaud the legislature's action today to stand up to status quo and take a step in the right direction.

>> i understand -- you're not alone. you're very angry. i get it. >> i'll really angry. >> okay. >> that's not my country. that's not -- the words without discussion or debate. >> is it only governor walker at this point who you think isn't playing well and doing right by the people of wisconsin? >> i hate to sound like a school yard guy but he started it in effect. once again, this is purely ideology. everybody wants the fiscal responsibility. this has nothing to do with it, the actions have nothing to do with it. this say man out of control. this is not the leadership this country wants. >> one other note. there's a recall effort on in wisconsin. when you asked earlier in the show, what can be done, there's an election. >> is that legal? you're supposed to be in office for a year before you can do that? >> i just don't know. the recall effort to be under way you have to gather the signatures. >> here's the thing.

everyone is trying to figure out what the alternative is to get around the other. we've gotten beyond the fact that there's a simple vote and people were voted to be in office and lead the state. by the way, the democrats leaving, i've got to tell you, i don't agree with governor walker. >> what the republicans were able to do, jim vandehei probably said it best, this was a great use of their power. they used it well. at the end of the day this was a clever political strategy. >> nick kristoff and pat. >> there's a real problem in public sector unions, work rules and pension allotments. but this doesn't feel as donny said, this doesn't feel like an effort to reduce that problem. this feels like an effort to disembow unions. >> pat buchanan? >> mika, first you're dead right. it's one year before you can recall anybody and the fact that republicans are being challenged on that, they have to take responsibility for their decisions. this is going to solve the problem for this reason. the collective bargaining issue

is now, if the courts uphold it, off the table. the senators will come back. as soon as they do they'll close the doors to the senate and vote those budget changes that are sitting there right now, as soon as the senators come home, that's beginning to be done. it's going to be solved and it's going to be over. >> donny, real quick. >> let's go back to the ni nicksonnian white house. the end justifies the means is what you're saying? >> i don't believe in mob rule in madison. that's what's going on in that state. >> pat, how does this -- you're right. he had do what they want on collective bargaining. how does this address the budget issue? i'm curious. >> i got that answer. >> they take the collective bargaining issue aside. it's solved. the senators are coming home, they've agreed to the budget issue. >> to answer your question, to answer your question, "wall street journal" by scott walker, why i'm fighting in wisconsin. in wisconsin we can avoid a massive teacher layoff that schools are facing across

america. our budget repair bill is a commitment to the future so our children won't face even more dire consequences than they face today. taking on the status quo is no easy task. each day there are protesters in and around our state capital. they have every right to be heard. but their voices cannot drown out the voices of the countless taxpayers who want us to balance our budgets and more importantly, to make government work for each of them. >> he removed the funding of the bill. that's beautifully written. i think the collective bargaining issue should be examined. the budget issues, the teachers that agreed to pay more for their health care and pensions. the only question i ask you, pat, how much more revenue is coming into the state today and how will that revenue be generated? i'm a little slow. i'm tying to figure it out. >> now that the collective bargaining issue is off the table, the senators come back. they'll have a choice. do you want the 1,500 teachers go off or do you want to agree to what you've already agreed to? the senators will accept, frankly, the health and pension

care contributions from the employees. the battle is over, harold. >> you agree, the real effort on the part of walker was to destroy the unions? you agree with that? >> i think it was both. the long-term problem was the union's power. he solved that. >> the answer is yes? >> the answer is yes to both. >> what do you think? >> i think -- i guess it seems to me is a delusion behind this that the basic problem, with public sector finance is the unions. it just seems to me incorrect. especially the attacks on teachers' unions feel to me inappropriate. real problems with the work rules. but at the end of the day we need better teachers, which means more compensation. >> i'm sticking with the variation of what you just said, the key quote in the story, governor walker yesterday, the action today will help ensure wisconsin as a business climate that allows the private sector to create 250,000 new jobs. i would assume those jobs will

start rolling in this morning and i assume that six or seven months from now, people's lives in wisconsin will be much better, their paychecks will be larger, their kids will be smarter in school because the union was diminished. that ain't going to happen. >> there you go. we have a lot to get to this morning. i know you're here, nick, to talk about libya, which we will get to. suze orman will join us and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell as well. up next, is president obama letting other nations take the lead on libya? savannah guthrie joins us from the white house. first, your forecast from ginger zee. >> it is going to rain, a lot. what does that mean to you? flight delays. philly showing up with over an hour delay. the storm keeps pushing moisture up to the east. the northeast will have flood threats and warnings all throughout the day. more than 3 inches expected over the next 48 hours. pittsburgh will get some snow.

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there has never been a situation where the international community with leadership by the united states has acted as quickly as it has to respond to this kind of situation. i think it is very important for people to understand the kind of dramatic action that has been taken with the leadership of this president and that will continue to be taken as we move forward. all right. libya in the news this morning as well. a live look at the white house. joining us now from the white house, nbc news white house correspondent and co-host of msnbc's "the daily rundown,"

savannah guthrie. and savannah, obviously secretary of state, the white house has made it very clear, they are going to wait for collective action on the issue of libya and a no-fly zone. what's the strategy behind that? >> well, they are looking at multilateral organizations to lead the way. what they don't want to do is set up a dynamic where it seems like it's the u.s. versus libya. they think that would be counterproductive. so they're comfortable working through the u.n., although when you talk about the u.n. security council it's not at all clear you could get the unanimity that would be necessary to take action. na nato, the arab league want to work through these organizations so that it appears the world united against gadhafi and not the u.s. versus libya. they think that would have demonstrable affects down the road and make things worse in the terms of the dynamic there, not just in libya but the broader middle east. they're aware of and i think

probably fair to say irritated by the criticism that somehow the u.s. is being weak or passive or letting god forbid, france and england lead the way in terms of the no-fly zone. all of this will be discussed at the nato defense minister's meeting in brussels. >> i would take it there's a level of intensity. at the same time, there's not a lot of time, is there? >> reporter: well, i mean there is and there isn't. one sense gadhafi is still there and he's obviously taking action against his people. on the other hand, these things do take tim. it took time in the balkans and iraq. the no flee zone in the '90s in iraq continued for ten years. this not a small undertaking and i think what the wlous is trying to say, we're not against the no-fly zone. we want to preserve the options but we're not going to rush right into it and be baited by some voices who want us to rush right into it. they think it's a significant

undertaking, also to take nothing of the expense. >> very few people have record the road to perdition. nick is here on set with us, the no-fly zone. many people as savannah alluded to have a difficulty grabbing hold of that feeling that this is something we, the united states, are being asked to do again alone. what's your take on it? >> we can't do it alone. with wouldfecti iviv ivive if w were to do it alone. it's passive. we've seen more leadership from france and england and from the gulf countries, the arab gulf countries. >> why is that? >> i think there's been mixed views within the white house, within the state department, and a real debate within them. some people who say the u.s. should be on the side of this kind of change. other people saying change is bad, change will disrupt things.

and clearly bob gates had a lot of reservations about a no-fly zone. the upshot was you had this extraordinary mixed signals about it and it seem to me the white house was ultimately exaggerating how difficult the no-fly zone would be to impose. >> you write the case for a no-fly zone in today's "new york times" and in part you say we would not have to send any ground troops to libya and a no-fly zone would be executed at the request of libyan rebel forces and at the demand of six arab countries in the gulf. the arab league, may endorse the no-fly zone and egypt and tunisia would provide bases and planes and perhaps provide rescue capabilities. this is not a simple task. >> it is ultimately about stopping air power or getting gadhafi to change his mind. that's a misconception. the central point is to peel off the libyan military from gadhafi. there's one military officer i've been talking to, he taped a

resignation, he taped a defection message he wanted me to put on youtube and as the tide began to shift, as gadhafi gained strength, they said hold off, hold off. so i think there are a lot of officers like that who now see maybe gadhafi will win. we've got to change that perception. >> so our military might, just a flyover at 1,500 feet could probably intimidate two-thirds of the libyan army, i would imagine. but the difficulty would come, would it not, if you decide to cradle the runways in libya to prevent them from taking off, they view it as an act of war, what happens then? >> i'd be against cradering runways or second weapons to the rebels. i'd be against second trainers there. but actually sending -- having a no-fly zone own eastern libya where there's no anti-aircraft capability operated by gadhafi, that's something we can do that might affect the outcome of the

war and it's incumbent upon us to try that. >> harold ford jr. >> i heard your talk about what the white house is thinking. they've been criticized somewhat. can't they take great pride in the fact that most of what's happening in the the middle east cannot be conceived or interpreted as american efforts to overturn? they may have been clumsy in the minds of some people. this has been a win for pro-democratic forces, pro democracy forces and america's not perceived as a great sponsor of it which is probably a win in the middle east, wouldn't you think? >> i think that's their goal, to continue that so that what happened in egypt, for example, it never became this notion that the u.s. was in there, trying to prop up demonstrators, that it looked like and was indeed as nicholas kristof can attest, a groos roots roundup kind of demonstration. they have to walk a fine line. on the other hand they don't want to appear so passive or slow to support the demonstrators or people moving for democracy that it looks like they're propping up these arab

dictators, because that would have effects down the road in terms of the perception of the u.s. for example, in egypt, you have demonstrators out on the streets. nick would have a better idea than i do about what their perception is now a few weeks later of the u.s. involvement. did they speak out forcefully enough, soon enough? this is the future of the middle east. obviously the u.s. wants to be on the right side of it. >> nick, respond to that real quick? >> it certainly worked out well in egypt. that passivity worked in the end. >> whether it was intended or not. >> if the upshot of this passivity is that gadhafi controls all of libya, that would be catastrophic or america and the arab world. >> savannah, before you go, any information out of the white house this morning connected to the developments in wisconsin overnight? >> reporter: no. i actually sought a comment on it and haven't got tonight yet. we know where the president stands. he obviously stands with the

rights of workers to have collective bargaining but he also has said unions will have to take a haircut to deal with the budget crises. i assume that continues to be his position. >> let us know if you get new comments. we'll be watching the story as well. big drama oust wisconsin overnight. savannah guthrie, thank you very much. catch savannah and chuck on "the daily rundown" at 9:00 a.m. eastern time on msnbc. nicholas kristof, thank you so much. harold ford jr., thank you for being with us as well. tomorrow, david axelrod, live on the set. up next, npr under fire. why the company acted so quickly in ousting its ceo. later, our exclusive look at this week's cover of "time" magazine. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] nature is unique...

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welcome back. 33 past the hour. we'll get to the npr story in just a moment. chris, i just have a question for you. are we going to play that newt bite again about love of country? >> yes, i think we will. >> just wondering. >> yes, we will. >> the fallout at npr could not have come at a worst time for public broadcasting.

officials believe they're in more danger of losing taxpayer funding that at any time in their history. as lisa myers reported, when the latest controversy erupted, the organization acted quickly. >> i want to begin -- >> reporter: npr's top executive, vivian schiller, the latest casualty of james o'keefe. we last saw o'keefe wearing a fur coat and playing a pimp, when he managed to take down the liberal group a.c.o.r.n. this time the target was npr. he captured an npr fund-raiser making disparaging remarks about republicans and the tea party. >> white middle-america, gun-toting racists. that's scary. they're seriously racist, racist people. >> reporter: this time, this cost the fund-raiser and ceo their jobs. the timing could not be worse.

the house voted to stop all funding of public broadcasting, $430 million this year. >> what kind of mission does the corporation for public broadcasting serve in these very tough economic times? >> reporter: npr says it gets only 2% of its budge fret taxpayers. most of the federal money, 71%, goes to local public tv and radio stations. losing that would hurt. >> i think we would survive without the money. would we do as good a job as we do now? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: officials say some stations would go under. also at risk programming like "sesame street." >> we have studies that prove our programs get these children ready for school, ready to learn. >> reporter: with american children already falling behind, public broadcasting supporters fear bert and ernie could become a casualty of the political wars. for "morning joe," lisa myers, nbc news, washington.

the conversation about that continues. coming up, grill master bobby flay puts his money where his mouth is. can he find america's next great restaurant? he'll join us live on set. first, rick stengel will be here to uncover the new cover of "time." we'll be right back. uh, laugh lines?

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i am the only host in america who has never lost an interview. i am 847-0, all knockouts. but he may be my greatest challenge yet. >> how is that fair? >> megan, you're going to have

to let me answer the question. we'll have a conversation. >> i'll ask the question. you're not answering. tell me how is it fair? >> ready? >> i'm going to take them down because he doesn't have a leg to stand on. let's get to the heat of the meat here. you're trying to silence clarence thomas. >> when there's the perception of a conflict or financial interest in your household, you have to recuse yourself. >> who cares about perception. they're the supreme court. they get to say and do whatever they want and they don't have to abide by any rules because they can find any rule they want unconstitutional. check and mate, sir. >> that is why -- >> you're just jealous. >> that's adorable. 0 past the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." we'll get to "time" in just a moment. we just heard donny talking baby talk. >> to my little 7-year-old and 3-year-old. >> exactly. which is why it's okay. >> my 7-year-old london said,

daddy, you never wave to me on tv. this is to her. be good in school today. >> are we done? >> joining us now -- >> this is what it's come to? >> it's cute. >> it's nice. human stuff. i'm sorry. >> it took me an hour to say hi to my kids. >> every time you come on it's a slow road to disaster. >> it would take him an hour to say hi to all his kids. >> good lord. seriously? we'd have to do a scroll on set. >> might spruce the ratings. >> sort of like the credits. >> that is just not true. >> he's got a lot of kids. >> mike you're the one with like 14. >> that's what he's saying. >> joining us now, "time" magazine's manager editor, rick stengel. i love the cover. >> i'm going to wave to everybody's kids first. the cover is about something we all face every day of our lives,

data mining and how corporations have made this a multibillion dollar business, tracking you, getting your information, selling it to advertisers. that's why when you go surfing on the web you see ads about, you know, if you booked a tick tote san antonio, you'll see an ad for an ad in san antonio. if you're interested in basketball you'll see ads for knick tickets. this is the trend of what's going on on the web. advertisers know who you are. the big issue for all of us in a way is the issue of competing equities between privacy and convenience. we all seem to be willing to give up privacy in order to have the convenience, the convenience for searching for information, the convenience of knowing the marital status of your friends on facebook. even facebook has more information about you than any other organization has in human history. >> i know. i'm so torn about it. they can, for example, personalize what is advertised to me as opposed to pat buchanan? >> oh, yes, absolutely.

>> explain that. >> the sites you visit put cookies on your computer. they know where you're going and interested in a silk shirt that you're buying. you go to another site and you're searching for information, an ad for nike sneakers. >> pat? >> this fits in with the thank you economy yesterday. i get a lot of books, if you're working on a book about the british empire, amazon.com is suddenly saying, patrick, would you like to see the book about the british economy and this and that? >> it's not just going to be the internet. >> if you're a bmw driver and there's a break from the nfl game, you'll be seeing a bmw ad while the guy next door might be seeing a chevy ad. this is where the world. >> what does it say about us, rick, that up grooz like the american civil liberties union and many others get all uptight

about government invading our privacy, government knowing too much about our lives. we say nothing about the ba nan ka rnana republic knowing everything about our lives. >> the right to privacy is not enshrined in the constitution. it's from a number of rights in first and third and fourth amendment. the law says almost nothing about your privacy in relation to private industry. right? we're not protected from banana republic or the gap having this information about us. in fact, we like it. we like to know when we go to a site that the site knows who we are, that we've been there before. as pat was saying we willingly give this information to amazon so they can say if you like this book, you might like that one. we like the convenience of it. that is the issue, the philosophical issue where the idea of privacy versus convenience. we're giving up privacy for convenience. >> if the consuming republic did not want this we'd be fighting back.

the free enterprise system is working. >> right. >> and we are voting yes. >> the peg for this, the ftc, the federal trade commission, is having hearings next week about privacy on the internet. senator john kerry is about to introduce a bill saying you should be able to opt out from people collecting information about you. >> as somebody who has worked with many corporations, marketing products, i never once see or felt from a corporation anything other than wanting to sell their products. none of these people are in business to find information to use it against you. this is marketing. >> and the cover is by joel stein. he basically said, nobody's looking at you as donny deutsch specifically. they're looking at you as a guy who wear a pinstripe suit and drives a certain type of car. it's not like anybody knows specifically who you are. that's the benefit and the relief. >> this is something mark zuckerberg has had to face up to, too. he took a lot of heat for

facebook having a privacy policy that was not strict enough in sharing information with other people. remember the movie "minority report," tom cruise, he walks into a mall and his eyes are scanned and they tell him what he wants. when you saw that, you're thinking that's some ridiculous version of the future. we're not too far away from that. it's happening online every day. >> the question is, do people want that the or not? it seems like they do. >> absolutely. every piece of research we've ever done, people want the customization. the very thing people are terrified about privacy, they want this. they don't want to be inundated with messages that are not relevant to them. >> it alerts you to the fact that somebody knows something about you that's wrong. the real danger is not the correct information people have about you, the real danger is when they have incorrect information about you and that gets out to your credit rating, consumers, if you want to buy a house, all of those things. that's the danger. >> i continually get e-mails asking me if i'm interested in purchasing women's underwear.

>> the cookies are working. >> two other pieces in time, the gop's misinformation campaign by joe klein, interesting. >> yes. joe was talking about what the mike huckabee-ization of the republican party and the fact that there's a willing and deliberate physician information campaign about barack obama and he basically says this doesn't even serve the republicans. the republicans should be engaging in debate about the deficit, about spending, not about whether barack obama grew up in kenya or not. >> i also think this is a fascinating good point. i'll do that. good point. fascinating piece. can your baby be depressed? >> i did a series, cbs a couple years ago, many years ago, on bipolar disorder in very young children in growing numbers. millions of kids are being diagnosed with it or other versions of it. >> right. >> and medicated heavily. it's fascinating. >> it's fascinating. >> and frightening. >> the old paradigm is things like bipolar and schizophrenia

appeared only later in adolescence when you're older. what they're discovering now, all of these things are friend present in infants. you can see evidence of it sometimes. it's both -- it's a relief and it's disturbing at the same time. >> also, david brooks tells "time" magazine newt gingrich is not going to be president. i wouldn't let that guy run a 7-eleven. did you know he loves the country deeply, so deeply that it caused him to work very hard. and cheat. >> i was watching that segment, mika, and i have no comment on it at all. >> rick stengel, thank you very much. mike does. yes? >> tell me you wouldn't be lulled if newt game up to you and whispered the fourth amendment in your ear. >> the fourth amendment, oh, i don't know. >> that's improper search and seizure. >> i'm taking that on the road tonight. >> guys. >> a little field study here. >> is there any way anybody who saw that interview which we'll

play at the top of the hour fell for that and would believe that and take that seriously? >> chris said let's think about that during the break. we'll be right back. >> thank you. new issue on newsstands now, "time" magazine. rick, thanks. still ahead, can republicans and democrats reach a compromise before next week's deadline? we ask senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. keep it right here on "morning joe," brewed by starbucks.

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open an account today and talk to chuck tdd# 1-800-345-2550 about setting up your one-on-one consultation. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so last night, they shot the big comedy central -- >> it was amazing. >> of donald trump. mika was there and chris was there. i couldn't make it. my apologies. i had another event. our man, chris bergdorf made it. >> this will be roughly, to put it mildly. won't get any rougher. comedy central has been so gen rousz to my charities and different things and paid so much money, i felt i had an obligation to do it. >> mika is in the ad yensz tonight. does that make you feel nervous in any way? >> no. the fact that mika is here, first of all, she would never

have heard language like this. if it's the mika i know. >> she's a puritan. >> she's a puritan. >> for mika to sitting through an hour and a half of these terrible terrible segments about every part of my body, probably especially my hair is going to be tough. the polls are amazing. they have me in first place, tied with obama. i haven't decided to do anything yet. i will make that decision by june but the country is doing horribly. we're a laughing stock to other countries. we're a whipping post to other countries. ialty i can tell you if i ever did decide to run and if i won, that would be ended. we would be a great country again, that, i can tell you. >> my gosh. >> donald trump is great. >> it was awful. i actually felt really bad for him. i can say nothing but the most horrific thing said ever. >> i had a good friend of mine that was in there, as they were being said, i can't even paraphrase -- >> my husband, and his

photographer, robin christ were there. >> who had the string on his neck that kept -- >> he must look at the camera. >> how many times -- >> six times? >> i think donny counted six. >> i counted six and 43 seconds, the now branded lewis turn. >> at least i got him to stop fixing his hair in the lens, you know. >> they're going to start teaching that at columbia. >> i think it's every 8.1 seconds. >> there were really effective comedians tearing donald to shreds last night. >> wait. look for another turn. lewis, look at donald, there you go. >> it's not a straight angle, another tilt. i just think it's well done. >> it is. it's the future of broadcasting. >> chris, what was the highlight? some of the big names? >> if you do nothing next week, watch for one thing except the

horrific performance of the situation from the jersey shore. he was literally almost booed off the stage. >> who was the funniest? >> snoop dogg. >> actually, the best joke was not filthy but unbelievably timed and pitched pefrpt a eed t was snoop. >> they find people closest to the roastees, like snoop and the situation. that's what's surreal about it. >> i was horrified. >> jeffrey ross, the roast master of all roast masters. the donald took it well, huh? >> i felt bad. >> what is so great about donald and his brand, he's in on the joke. that's what's so great about him. he can say anything and do anything. that's why people love this guy. he is not a joke. >> comedy central, how do they come up with such foul things? i'm serious. >> talk to newt gingrich, that's

what they do, get the material from newt. >> coming up, cnbc, susy orm mon joins us on set. it goes on. stay right here on "morning joe." i'm good about washing my face.

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there's no question that at times in my life, partial driven

by how passionately i felt about this country, that i worked far too hard and that things happened in my life that were not appropriate. what i can tell you is that when i did things that were wrong, i wasn't trapped in a situation of ethics, i knew things were wrong and i was doing it. i found i felt compelled to seek god's forgiveness, not god's understanding but god's forgiveness. >> okay. here we go. >> welcome back to "morning joe." just feeling the music. ♪ >> i love the country. mike barnicle still with us, donny deutche still with us and joining the table, personal finance expert, suze orman,s who new book "the money class," learn to create your new american dream. what a great time for this book to come out. i can't wake to talk about that. suze, i was watching you watch

that sound bite and your face con tort. >> the context of that. >> what do we do? i found myself at a loss when we ran this at i think the 6:00 hour. i don't know what to say. i don't want to be snarky or sarcastic. it's not funny, but he is saying his love of country was in part the reason he cheated on his wives? >> i'm going to do a little graph here. >> is he saying that? >> what he's really explaining that the love he feels for his country that he spreads, that that forced him in this direction away from his wife with cancer to the new babe in his life and that was because of the love of country, which, of course, makes sense to all of us. >> because of his love of country, he said he was passionately driven to do these things? >> suze, you follow the american dream, you will decipher this for us? >> you know, in my entire career, i have never been at a loss for words.

i have never known not what to say about something, never! until this very moment. >> yeah! >> all i can say, my true comment on this is, i am at such a loss for words about this i don't know what to say. there is never a good reason to do something that isn't right. there is never a reason that justifies when you cheat. >> he had a good reason. i love this country so much, so while my second wife has cancer, i'm going to cheat on her with another woman. >> all right, donny. >> i filled it in, it makes sense. that explains it. >> it's the most ridiculous statement i ever heard in my life. that's really the only comment one can make about it. there is no justification for it. if that's his qualification for running and being part of the political scene again, he just doomed his career, if you ask me. >> if he does want to run for president, a serious question, he'll be dogged by questions about his personal life. if this is his way to get out ahead of it, maybe not the best

way to do it. >> pat, is he back in the chair again? get him back in. i'm sorry. i will try to take this seriously and not make a joke. it won't help me. donny, you can do it because you're a guy. if i get sarcastic, there's a word people use for me. >> you can be sarcastic. >> what a buffoon. >> so he's getting ready for this interview. and his advisors are saying, okay okay, we have to deal with this marriage thing and bill clinton, going after clinton for having an affair while having one. let's strategize. what's the strategy? help me here. >> this was not a staff strategy. no staff member would tell him how hard you were working for you country and you got a little distracted. this came right out of newt and what it is, throwing up a partial defense or explanation,

her ro explanation,heroizing himself and it's a mistake. not just a mistake, the show we have on this morning, everybody talking. when you start laughing at a politician, it is a very very serious sign of trouble. >> that's a great point. >> that's what happened this morning, it's the cause of merriment and laughter for everybody. >> not funny but -- >> here is the deal with newt gingri gingrich. he is his own top and best advisor. he listens only to his innerself. listening to him through the years, his comments, not just this one, are sometimes so tedious, you can only think, this is a guy who must suffer from such low self-esteem that he takes his intellect, which is considerable and embroiders it to the extent he wants you to think he's the smartest man in the universe, not just the smartest guy in the room right

now. his low self-esteem is such that he compensates by overly compensating for all this ridiculous rhetoric he uses. >> thank you, dr. barnicle. >> don't you think that's a big warning sign to say, don't vote for him? >> i don't think we have to worry about that. >> game over. >> super narcissistic, seriously. >> i just want to try three words. >> please don't. >> house of representatives. it's working for him. it hasn't worked for me. >> suze orman. let's talk about things that are really important, like "money class," your new book. you talk about the american dream changing and everything we know about money changing. how do you address this in terms of your latest advice for people? >> here's the thing, starting in 2008, america did change. america has gone from a country where your desire to own a home has now gone to a country whose desire to get out of the home

you own and rent an apartment is more prevalent than ever before. middle america has essentially gone away. you see them in payday loan l e lines, they are trying to do anything, can't find a job, everything has dhapchanged. the premise of the book is that the old american dream is dead. it's dead, everybody. >> what's the new american dream? we don't want to get people down. >> the new american dream is values, ethics, integrity, to do what makes you sleep at night, live a simple life and be able to get by. the new american dream is one now that really makes people feel that they want to define themselves by who they are versus all these things around them. this book is simply a book that takes people back to class, to teach them in nine different classes exactly what they knew to stand in their truth and live the best life they can and create a future that can never be taken away.

>> i have given speeches and say we have a scar that people will live differently and spend differently. a lot of people contradict me, say, yeah, that's now. give it another year or two years, stock market going up, unemployment guoing down oing d 8.5, we will revert back. >> i don't think so. >> i agree with you also. a lot of people say that. >> i don't think ever before we have hundreds of millions of people in a home under water can't get rid of it, feel there's no hope for them, know they will never be able to retire. it has scarred them very deeply this time, different than before in the '90s, scarred them in the same way our parents and grandparents were scarred in the depression and never forgotten that, this is the same type of scarring process that has gone on in america. >> you talk about the new american dream, i know this book was about money -- other, were you going to go? it sounds like you're describing

a path to actually really knowing what it feels like to be happy? >> that's right. >> through happiness and fulfillment, you live a life that's kind of like a dream. you need money to be part of that dream. what do you do with money? what's the right thing to do with money today? it's very different than it was before. today, you don't take social security until you're 67 or whatever, full social security age is. years ago, you took it at 62 because it made sense. everything has changed and we need to learn the new rules. >> suze, for all the people that lived beyond their means the last few years, there was another side to the equation, there were enablers, banks, credit card companies, the united states government, have we done enough to change that side of the equation to change the american dream? >> no. that side of the equation is not changed. that side of the equation is still going to try to profit off the people of america. you have people not being able to get loans to buy a home from

a regular bank. what are they doing? going to the fha, putting only 3.5% down. it's a travesty what's still happening out there. people have to learn how to save themselves an what it takes for them to be happy. institutions will not help them. >> there's a disconnect. i love this book. the media still, if you look in the media in entertainment, what young people are still watching, it is more extreme in ostentatiousness and consumption and frivolity, are the young people getting this message? >> they are. you want to know why? because they are seeing their parents have to move out of the house, live in a car and do all these things and they're calling into the suze orman show -- >> the idealization of what is happening is not syncing up with what we're putting out there. >> that's true but the kids

themselves know that's true. >> money is one component of all this. what about the anxiety level so many adult american parents feel when they think about their kids and the world their kids are going to grow up in. i think many many americans over the last three or four years, for various reasons other than money, think my kids are never going to have the life that my wife and i have had or whatever? what about that, the anxiety level? >> in the book again, i addre address -- there's a whole chapter on family and family values and the kids aren't going to grow up and live a horrible life, they're still stuck in the anxiety, i don't have the money to send my kids to school and pay for them. if they do go to school, they aren't going to be able to find a job. the conversation has to change, does your kid go to school right away after high school? if they do go to school, what kind of school do they go to? do they go to a community college? take out loans? do they not?

this book has given parents permission to say, if you don't have your own emergency fun or money in retirement, it is okay to say to your kids, i can't afford to pay for your college education and the kids need to accept that. that's where the anxiety is right now with parents more than them even thinking their kids will grow up beyond that. >> it's a little more than that, isn't it? not that long ago, your son, daughter would go to high school and go to college and they would come back and live and work within a 30 mile radius of where you lived. that's gone! because the factory is gone, the plant is gone, whatever is gone. so now, they live outside boston but the kids work in chicago or florida, wherever, it creates a level of tension and anxiety in older people. >> it's not so much that the kids aren't living close to them because the parents have kind of accepted that, will these kids even be able to find a job in

chicago outside boston or anything. that's the anxiety. >> i love the message. there's something we have to be careful of, a learned helplessness, we're telling, on the one hand, the great message is you have to redefine the american dream and re-look at it. on the other hand, we have to be careful we're not sending a message to young people the american dream is not there, it's okay, you're not expected to do better than your parents, it's okay. >> that's not what this is about. >> if you think what the message can be construed as, game over, okay, slack. you have to be careful. >> the old american dream was 25,000 square feet home. leasing cars. >> flat screens. >> this big big, bigger bigger bigger, more, more, more, everything i can put on a credit card, i don't need money. it was a false dream. it wasn't the dream of years and years ago, i will grow up -- the dream became, show everybody what i am by the things that i own. doesn't make you happy. >> that's a yes and that is a

reboot of our values. at the same time, i don't want to tell young people that you're not going to do better than your parents. >> i never said that. they're going to do better than their parents. >> from a values point of view. >> actually, i think they will do better than their parents if they live this way. >> that's right. >> the anxiety will be gone, number one. >> yes. but there's a -- i don't want to overratchet in the other direction in that we are squelching -- >> that's not what's happening in this book. listen, the baby boomers did better than their parents absolutely. >> we went too far. >> they went too far. this is all about, can we just come back to where everybody has values again? they know what to spend their money on, know what not to spend their money on. >> exactly. >> because they're not in debt that's degreeing them down, they excel because they live below their means but within their needs. know how to take care of themselves. pensions are going away.

san francisco po social security postponed for these kids and have to learn a new way and have the ability to dream a life they deserve to live. >> there have been numbers to support suze's the sisis, since 2008 the savings is going up. >> a double-edged sword, the more we save, the less we spend, worse for the economy. everybody has to read this book, it is an important book but there are a lot of conundrumcon. >> how many flat screens are in your home? i'm curious. >> i'm somebody actually over my lifetime my friends would make fun of me, although i did very well, that was never driven by money, i have a nice home now -- be quiet -- i'm serious, i always lived this way and always been very very conservative. the point being i want people to take away, to understand the new values but not squelch at the same time striving.

>> i'm -- those flat screens that you have, because you've lived in an arc, i'm just saying, they don't make you happy, do they? >> i'm somebody with all my faults has always understood. i will take mea culpa on so much stuff. >> miss orman is somebody who always wanted more for people. i want them to live a life they deserve to live. not a life full of misery, what am i going to do, they wake up in the middle of the night and riddled with fear. that's what middle america is right now. they don't know what to do. i'm not taking away their dream, i'm giving them a realistic life so they can live the dream they deserve. >> i've been to donny's home and the first word that comes to mind, conservative. a cozy little place. >> by the way, miss or mman liv beautifully also. >> donny, you can put every home

i have in my bathroom all the homes i have together are 6,000 square feet total. your bathroom is 6,000 square feet. >> he has a place where they're having the new circus this year. >> i walked in his home and all i did was -- >> it's a nice place. >> no apologies. >> your partnership with oprah. tell us about the show. >> in september, we will be launching a new show called "the money class." it will be with an audience, it will be teaching, doing all kinds of things. but that launches in september. i couldn't be happier, we're also going to be bringing back the all-star show with dr. oz and dr. phil that was so successful we launched the network with. the network will get exactly to where it will be, i would never bet against miss winfrey for all the money in the world. >> what a team. look at that. >> so early in the game. all these articles, it's not performing the way it should.

it's been on for like two months. >> down down down, take it down as far as you want because then it just has that much further to go up. >> as a marketer, i will tell you, this will be very successful, not even a question. it's right, it's positioned right, has the right players. we never bet against oprah. but it will be huge. >> it's a fabulous network. >> we should mention suze will be at the barns and noble at union square in new york at 7:00 to kick off her national book tour. thank you so much. >> the after party at my apartment. >> really? >> because he can fit all of new york in his apartment. >> count the flat screens and come back and report. >> saturdays at 9:00 on cnbc. when we come back, we bring in mine incorporate leader, mitch mcconnell. i booked him. what are the chances of a budget deal before next week's deadline and also, on a mission to find america's next great restaurant,

grill master bobby flay. first for the weather in the northeast. ginger. >> good morning. >> good morning everyone. rain delayed flight delays have already started. philadelphia has almost a 90 minute delay showing up. a lot of groeen for the others. it won't last long. inland, hefty flooding. pittsburgh has had almost an inch of rain. that gives you an indication of what's to come, almost 3 will fall. in parts of northern new jersey, you're really in the affected area. the center of the nation is a lot sunnier. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. as much as i can about a company before i invest in it. that's why i like fidelity.

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letting the tax cuts expire for the top 2% of income earners, we're only talking about 315,000 people here. it's not only a popular thing to do, in ply mind, it's the right thing to do. it's not a substitute for cutting. to just do this and not cut won't pass the laugh test. but at some point in the near future, it needs to be part of the solution. >> welcome back to "morning joe." joining us now from capitol hill, republican senator from kentucky, senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell, thank you for being on the show. good to see you, sir. >> good morning, mika.

>> let's talk about what senator schumer was saying, saying it doesn't pass the laugh test talking about the budget and moving forward responsibly and spreading the pain. what do you say? >> i thought the interesting thing first about the two votes yesterday is that the house republican proposal actually did better in the drik senaemocrati than the democratic senate proposal. it tells you there is a desire to get our budget on a downward trend. i have been for two years trying to get the president to the table on that. there will be no entitlement reform without the president of the united states. that is an area you need a result, not an issue. and i think there's been a curious kind of reluctance the "washington post" has noted repeatedly. i'm reminded for example of ruth marcus' column last week about "where is waldo," basically criticizing the president for being so passive and sitting on the sidelines.

i, too, think we need to do entitlement reform but need to do it with the leadership and involvement of the president of the united states. >> you note a reluctance on the part of the president. what about you, sir? is there reluctance from you, from members of your party, when it comes to dealing with the bush tax cuts and maybe spreading the pain? how do you feel about it? >>. >> yeah. i don't think we have a problem in this country because we tax too little. i think it's because we spend too much. it's clear from the election last november, we will not be raising taxes. the question is, can we get our spending under control? we're spending too much, borrowing too much. mika, we added $3 trillion to the national debt just in the last two years. our cumulative debt is $14 trillion, the size of our economy, we begin to look a lot like greece. that doesn't even take into account the over $50 trillion in promises we made to future generation, entitlements, very popular, but the only way you

can do entitlement reform is with leadership and signature of the president of the united states. >> senator mcconnell, 88% of the budget lies in both entitlements and defense spending. as somebody as a fiscal conservative, you would want to cut defense spending, is that fair to say? >> i think everything is on the table. what's before us at the moment is the domestic discretionary spending reductions. if you focus on that first step, it is noteworthy that the house republican spending reduction proposal did better in the democratic senate than the democratic alternative. i think it tells you there is a bipartisan desire to go down this path. i agree with chuck schumer we need reform but can't do it without the president's signature. >> it would help me along the way, i'm a business guy. if we are sitti ting at a table. say senator, we want entitlement

reform, i want to hear not first things first but, yeah w we have to look at the defense budget and afghanistan. why won't you commit to saying that without saying everything's on the table? >> i'll commit to say we shouldn't. we have two wars going on at the same time. we have a sense of priorities. we have two wars going on at the same time. we're winding down in iraq, hopefully not have a long time commitment in afghanistan at this level. as secretary gates pointed out he wants $100 billion out of defense. we're open to defense reductions. at the moment, we need to focus on the domestic discretionary side and try to encourage the president -- he doesn't have to do it politically, i'm not asking him to unilaterally take a position on entitlement reform. we're having plenty of conversations i didn't have with him the first two years because they had big majorities in the house an senate. we are having plenty of conversations, we're not getting anywhere, that's the problem. >> speaking of not getting

anywhere, you mentioned the word bipartisanship a few minutes ago and hear it on both sides of the aisle. each side comes up about 10 yards short of the goal line discussing what to cut and when to cut. could you give us in the sense of bipartisanship, both sides coming up short of the goal line, a timetable for when you're going to get together and cross the goal line? a timetable? >> let me tell you what we need to do, come together like reagan and tip o'neil when they fixed social security in '83 and when they did tax reform in '86 and like bill clinton and republicans in '96 and bill clinton and republicans actually balanced the budget. anybody remember that in the late '90s? the opportunity is here and it is now. divided government is actually the only time you can do really tough stuff. republicans are ready. i have a lot of new members who came here to do difficult important things to cut spending and debt. john boehner has more.

we are waiting for the president of the united states. he is the most prominent democrat in america only his signature can make it law. now is the time to engage and he has been curiously passive to this point. >> pat buchanan. >> republicans have about $60 billion they want to take out of this year's budget, a bold move, i think that's about 1.5% from the budget and you get total resistance from the senate and president of 1.5%. what does that lead you to hope for in terms of going after giant sacrosanct programs like medicaid and medicare down the road. are we going to make these cuts or are we headed to the cliff? >> it depends on the president. only he can make a law and sign something in the law and he has to be engaged in the process. pat, i've just given you examples of presidential leadership and divided government by both a republican president and democratic

president. the time to do this is now. curiously enough, i don't understand why the white house doesn't understand this would be popular for the president. when he did the tax deal the vice president and i negotiated in december, his numbers went up, his approval rating went up. it's tracked down sense then because he has not been reaching out to us and doing the things the american people think we need to do to get this country's house in order. >> one quick question on another topic, i want to ask you about libya. some of your colleagues in the senate have called for a no-fly zone, namely john mccain, your colleague there. you, when asked, didn't say you were for it, said you wouldn't rule it out. where do you stand? do you think a no-fly zone would be a good idea led by the united states over libya? >> i think short of putting american troops on the ground, we need to look at all these options. i think everybody agrees, anything we can do to speed any exit of moammar gadhafi would be a good thing.

during the cold war, we would arm insurgents, we did it in a number of different places. sometimes it was actually very effective. there are a number of different options the administration is looking at and we're encouraging and some of the democrats in the senate think a no-fly zone would be a good idea and like to have it done on a multilateral basis. we can look at all these options to see if they can be helpful without direct involvement in what seems to be a civil war in libya. >> gadhafi looks like he's getting the upper hand bombing rebel hand towns. is there a tipping point for you that the united states says you have to step in and we can't stand by and watch this anymore? >> no, we will continue to follow it. all that's happening in the middle east the last few months, our ability to help is marginal. we might be able to be helpful in libya, looking at all the options. >> on the budget, you accused

the president of being reluctant and of punting and some members of your party have use that word, not leading on this. hasn't this been your party's platform? hasn't this been your party's message? why don't you lead on it and put real options on the table, real numbers, real cuts across the board? >> because i'm not the president of the united states. we elect a president to lead. that's his job. i'm sure he'd rather have the kind of congress he has the last congress but he doesn't. he has a different congress now. the good news about from them his point of view. if he really wanted to tackle big difficult seemingly impossible to solve problems, divided government is the time to do it. what i'm saying to him publicly and privately, we're ready to go but he needs to take the lead. >> isn't that punting, too? >> no. we only have one president at a time. >> okay. >> he's the president. he won the election, we honor that result. for the next two years, we have to work together if we're going to get anything important done.

>> senator mitch mcconnell, thank you very much for being on the show this morning. great to see you come back when joe's back. >> thank you. up next, business with erin burnett when we come back. ooh, a brainteaser. how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad.

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democrats democratic. predicting the demise of america and people have always been wrong and will be wrong again. the special characteristics of america is optimism, belief in the future and capacity for reinvention, grabbing opportunities, innovating, changing, seizing the future. i know that's what we are going to see in this country again. >> 37 past the hour. that was australian prime minister sounding optimistic about the future of america. she spoke exclusively with cnbc's erin burnett, who has a check on business before the bell, live at the new york stock exchange. >> good morning. she came up here bright and early. i have to say, she gave a speech yesterday addressing both houses of congress. she talked about how one of the first things she remembers when she was a kid was leaving school early to go home and watch america put a man on the moon. it was a pretty interesting

thing. sometimes it's worth, why i wanted to share that sound bite, why the rest of the world believes so much in our country, sometimes more than ourselves. easy to get down on yourself. sometimes you looking through the eyes of others and makes you feel good about how great our country can be. australia has been an ally with the u.s., biggest provider of forces in afghanistan. i asked about the no-fly zone in libya, that you talked about, here's what she said? >> a no-fly zone is one of the options before the security council. we believe it's vital any action has security council support. >> obvious, that they would not support that if the u.s. were to go that alone. we'll have more discussions with pr prime minister gillard. job numbers came in below 400,000, the good news, the benchmark we were looking at. a little bit worse than expected but look at the four week moving

average we're at 392,000, below that 400 level, that's good news although the market is going to open lower today. >> earlier, we were talking about newt gingrich's defense about why he cheated on his cancer stricken life because of love of country and mike brought up the point he often uses the pledge of allegiance as grease in the wheels kind of thing, if i come up to a restaurant and say, hi, i'm donny deutche from the 13th congressional district and use political words, how does that play out? >> i don't know. i thought she said such a lovely thing and somehow you sullied it. >> thank you, erin. thank you very much. >> seriously, he represents sort of like -- >> the degenerate label. >> donny, you are the degenerate but we love you. >> the gutter. >> this has been a thread from the show, erin, who is brilliant, has a great business perspective, i wanted her analysis. >> i have two older brothers.

often, when we were in middle school, my mom would have to say, no talking, no toilet talk at the table and we would not be able to talk. >> that pretty much takes it all away when you're a kid. >> erin, i'm sorry. standing by in the greenroom, grill master, bobby flay. we'll be right back. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 if anything, it was a little too much. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 but the moment they had my money? nothing. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no phone calls, no feedback, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no "here's how your money's doing." tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i mean what about a little sign that you're still interested? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 come on, surprise me! tdd# 1-800-345-2550 [ male announcer ] a go-to person to help you get started. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 regular detailed analysis of your portfolio. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 for a whole lot of extras at no extra charge, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck. tdd# 1-800-345-2550

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this wrap is something you created obviously, to me, it's not that flavorful. >> you probably wouldn't create the one i created for you. i think the complaints will be really low. what are you going to say? you didn't like it but you created it? >> i have to call my restaurants right now. make sure everybody picks up

their own food, all right? when they don't like it, tell them it's their fault. >> that was chef and restaurateur, bobby flay, on america's "next great restaurant," he steps out of the kitchen in a new role as potential investor. >> i love this show. been begging to get on this show forever. finally, here i am. the best interview i ever had, let's get this out of the way. donny, when he had his own show -- i know his ego will fly, that's okay, we love him for that. best interview ever. >> thank you very much. it was awesome. >> bobby is a good man. >> it's weird, because that's not reflected here. >> i'm in the guest role. i just lost all my credibility. >> let's see if we can't pick up donny's pace. what's your favorite color? >> my favorite color.

>> i'm going to go with pinstripe. >> why are you so awful? >> that's what won him the pulitzer. let's talk about the show. what's the concept behind it? >> in my opinion, everybody at some pointed in their life said to themselves, i have a great idea for a restaurant not that they would do it, restaurants are really intriguing to people. this gives that opportunity. you don't have to be in the restaurant business or chef, if you want to pitch a concept to us, we want to hear it. we sent a bus all over the country, have thousands of people auditioning and narrowed it down, last week the opening show, 10 people, who will face off to get their own restaurant. actually, they will get their own three restaurants. >> whoa. >> i have a restaurant a block away, 75, $80 a head, we're not looking for that restaurant, looking for the next quick casual restaurant. >> if this goes on, i love the idea, this will launch a thousand -- >> is it going to be healthy?

>> this is not fast-food. something like chipotle. >> what are the concepts? >> we have a modern india concept. a guy who wants to create a restaurant after his grandmother's meatballs, calls saucy balls and a woman who played for the nba and runs the gamut all over the place. >> you're one of the top well-known food guys on the planet. >> god. >> he has to give it back to me. it's true. >> why is everybody so obsessed with food? what is that nerve more than ever. you guys are like rock stars. >> our common denominator. we can all talk about it. talking about bobby flay's steak in lake city, how many times a day will we eat and not eat to make ourselves healthy? that subject is the most

important thing to us. obviously, it's become a lot sexier in the last few years because becoming a chef is much more fashionable. >> why? >> food is the key to lots of things. a man or woman's heart. makes us feel good about ourselves, whether we're eating healthy or not. one of those things that strikes a chord. >> the show looks great. in real life, starting a restaurant, i don't have to tell you, is a really tough thing. a lot of people fall by the wayside. what is the challenge? >> i have 11 restaurants and never gets easier opening a restaurant. what we're looking for is a really good concept but also looking for somebody who can drive this thing. in the last 15 years with the internet explosion, there's way too many people who want to get rich quickly. that's not the restaurant business. you have to roll up your sleeve like any good business and throw yourself in front of a bus to

make sure this thing doesn't fail and make great decisions, hire the right people, create a good logo, have a good concept, have good food, create a tremendous environment. obviously, if the food is good and place is boring, it's not a good restaurant, only half. >> it's 10 times tougher in new york city, how many thousands are there? 10,000? >> i don't know the number. >> you could have a great restaurant, good food and atmosphere and word doesn't get out, it's gone in a couple months. >> you could have a restaurant with 40 or 50 streets and packed every night and not make a dime because of rent and labor costs. it costs so much more money to operate a restaurant in new york city now than 10 years ago. i can't tell you how much more. >> what do you say to somebody out there, forget they're on your show, has an idea for a restaurant, not a huge cost, i have an idea and want to do the first avocado, what's the game plan? >> for the show or just in general? >> i have a great idea, i won't

make it to your show, i know this is a home run idea, give me your form la, how do i get it going? >> first, you want to open a restaurant about avocados. what do you know about them i don't. why will we eat avocados day in and day out. why do people want to eat avocados every week and how will your parrot? what will it look at. there's four of us, we're not just judges, we're investing our own money in this concept. we're emptying our pockets and putting money up for the restaurants. they're getting a chance to go in front of investors. it's hard to get a meeting before investors, especially if you don't know anything. we're giving tests you have to go through to open a restaurant, hiring staff, creating logos and slogans, designing a restaurant, designing the uniforms they're wearing, all those things that go into opening a restaurant.

>> the restaurant business is so brut brutal. >> yeah. >> outside of new york, because new york is different. do you think people are more attracted to owner operated restaurants, they know the owner is there on the premises? >> a great question. i think in smaller towns, people want to see the owner everyday when they walk in a restrant. you go to a place like vegas, people forgive it because it's las vegas, a different environment. you definitely have hit on something. to me, there's no magic. people say to me, how do you keep your restaurants going, mesa grill celebrated its 20th anniversary last week, there's no magic to it. i wake up and go to the place that needs me most that week. i could be cooking on the grill or hiring a chef. >> last time you cooked something? >> last night. >> how do we do compared to donny? >> you're actually my new favorite. >> thank you. >> i don't own my own show, but

the new show, donny, the best. >> thank you. you can watch "america's next great restaurant" next week. >> should i disclose we are affiliated with nbc on msnbc? chris, remind me, don't be irresponsible. don >> greek style regatta. i grilled radico and some kale -- seize opportunity like the smallest of startups. it's the network-- the intelligent, secure cisco network that lets your employees, partners, suppliers and customers innovate and share so you can unleash the power of your most valuable asset: your people. ♪

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i am the only host in america who has never lost an interview. i am 847-0, all knock-outs. weiner may be my greatest challenge yet. >> how is that fair? >> megan, megan, you have to let me answer the question or we won't have a conversation that gets us anywhere. >> no. i'll ask the question. you're not answering. tell me how is it fair? >> ready? >> i will take him down because weiner doesn't have a leg to stand on. let's get to the heat of the meat here. you're trying to silence clarence thomas? >>. >> clear letter of the law, when ever there's a financial interest in your house, you have to recuse yourself. >> they are the supreme court, who cares about perception. they get to say whatever they

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time to tell you what we learned today. i'm book ended by new york icon. did you learn anything today? >> i did learn. learned if i want to come